TORONTO — George Springer put his club ahead with a three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Toronto Blue Jays advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1993 by beating the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night.
It was the first go-ahead homer in Game 7 history when a team trailed by multiple runs in the seventh inning or later. And the Blue Jays’ bullpen took over from there, registering the final six outs, including the last three from closer Jeff Hoffman.
“Just pound the zone, and don’t get to [Cal] Raleigh. That was honestly my goal,” Hoffman said on Fox after the game. “Get strike one, put them away, do it quickly, and let the guys behind me work.”
The Blue Jays will host Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 on Friday night when the World Series comes to Canada for the third time. The defending champion Dodgers swept Milwaukee in the NLCS.
“The at-bats before me. If it’s not for those guys, that at-bat doesn’t happen,” Springer said on Fox, referring to his two teammates who were on base in time for his homer. “I’m just so happy for our team, out fans, our city, our country. I’m so happy right now.”
Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez each hit a solo home run for the Mariners in the team’s first Game 7, but Seattle failed to reach its first World Series, leaving the heartbroken Mariners as the only major league team without a pennant. Raleigh, who led the majors with 60 homers in the regular season, made it 3-1 with a leadoff homer against Louis Varland in the fifth inning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
